Echoes of a Past Life
by Fandom Exploitation
Summary: Emma Swan meets a strange man wielding a hammer who has catapulted himself through the windshield of her car. Is he just an odd stranger or could he be someone from long ago? Sequel to The Malfunctioning Tool of Destruction.


**It is advisable that you read the story The Malfunctioning Tool of Destruction prior to reading this one - Thor**

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It was like Earth had ceased its revolution around the unforgiving lord of power. Her hair, golden like it had been spun by the very angels above, her grace, like an elven race of a distant land and her face, so beautiful even as one delicate eyebrow was raised in mocking and one hand firmly on her waist which I knew was where she kept the mortal weapon of destruction.

"Forgive me, I am merely very lost and I wish to explain everything that has occurred here," I said as smoothly as possible.

"You're not serious. Just because you talk like you're from centuries ago doesn't change the fact that you've rammed yourself through my windshield. Ah yes, that little misfortune that had lead up to our meeting. You see, after getting sent to a time of fantasy, I had finally managed to return back to the world I had intended to land upon (I started from Asgard). Unfortunately, due to a misjudgment of whether or not I had to swing my hammer forward or backwards (a side effect of said fantasy land) I propelled myself into the car of the fair maiden. Fair maiden not being pleased at all by my rather violent introduction.

"I swear upon my heart that I had no intentions to hurt you. You see, I stumbled upon strange land where I was unable to use my hammer properly and I had only just returned and a side effect of traveling through dimensions must have led to a miscalculation," I said. In all sense of honesty, I thought she was going to slap me. Instead, she pulled out a walkie talkie.

"Henry, did you send a guy, blonde, war hammer, speaks like he's from the Middle Ages and is dressed in a costume?"

"Not that I remember, I don't even think anyone in the book fits that description," a young child's voice replied from the curious box that seemed quite prehistoric in comparison to the equipment I have seen S.H.E.I.L.D use.

"Oh, thanks. Sorry I bothered you."

"I will be sure to send forth a payment to repair your vehicle," I said once she pocketed the communicator.

"Well at least you're more honorable than some of the jerks I've met. I am surprised you didn't do a runner. You'd probably out run me," she said.

"Possibly, however, I am not a jerk of which you speak of and I am glad you regard me more highly of those. They must have been fools to escape the presence of such a beauty," I said. I saw a hint of a blush but this woman chose to keep her mouth shut. "I am Thor, and what will your name be?"

"Emma Swan," she replied. Emma Swan, the name was like happiness and temptation mixed together and dancing on my tongue. How I wished to say her name out loud, but then I might face the fury of this woman that was so short compared to my Asgardian demigod stature.

"I would like to make a phone call to my superiors so they know where to find me. They will also bring forth a payment. Once again, I am so deeply sorry," I said, hoping that she would forgive me. Sometimes I cursed my inhuman strength.

"Yeah, well it happens to the best of us," she replied. Wait? So she too had cast herself through the windshield of an unexacting driver. "Which I mean, things happen and you don't know they're gonna happen until after it's done." Ah, that cleared it up. Still getting use to the strange way Midgardians speak nowadays.

"Of course, that's what makes life so dangerous yet so worth living. How I sometimes crave for something to brake the undying monotone of existence," I said. Oh dear, now she was back to her interpretation that I was not of this place. I was trying so hard to blend in and up until now, I was actually succeeding. Stark would owe me lunch for a month.

"You're really something aren't you. Well, I thank you for waiting with me until the tow comes and gets me," she said.

"I would wait with you regardless, even though this tow truck is the only way out for me as well," I replied. She snickered and I was glad we had moved on from my little slip up.

"So where are you from?"

"I am from Asgard." Curse my truthfulness.

"Wherenow?"

"I am currently living in New York, but my homeland is Asgard." Where was it that Stark said Asgard was according to legends? Oh yes, that's right. "It is a small town in Norway." She seemed to accept that answer.

"It's funny. My son here, he seems to think that I am some princess from another land destined to save this town. Imagination these days, I blame the Xboxes," she said. I paused, could it be the same land that I had visited only shortly before finding myself before Emma Swan? I decided to remain quiet, perhaps it wasn't my place to reveal to her that I had been to a place that could quite possible exist, if I did, I would have to explain why I was traveling through dimensions and not traveling with the assistance of Midgardian vehicles.

"I have heard of these Xboxes, games that do not really require any physical exertion," I said, changing the subject.

"Pretty much. What happened to a good old game of tag?"

"Oh yes, my brother and I use to play that!" I said although my latest encounter with Loki hadn't really been all that positive although I did remember the little things, like when we were young and careless.

"Oh look, the truck is here," she said and indeed she was correct. After helping the tow truck driver lift and hook the chain to the front of the car (a feat which I did while Emma and the driver was discussing something) the three of us got into the front. The drive back was made in comfortable silence. For some reason, I felt at ease while this woman I had just met was by my side, content that I was merely in her company. Once I had told the man that I was going to make the payments, he said that as long as I didn't skip town, it wouldn't be a problem if it took me a while to get the money to him.

"My superiors will be here in half an hour. I'm sorry if I am keeping you from other businesses," I said.

"Please, this town can get pretty quiet with the biggest thing being a faulty streetlight or some kid littering," she said. I frowned. Such a lovely woman restricted to a life that paled in comparison to the spark I saw within her. But if she was supposedly the savior of this town, then I would not comment on her reason of staying.

"Well, New York is a place that it so strange and ever-changing. It is so hard to keep up sometime. I have some of my female colleagues trying to explain to me that certain styles of dress changed with the people's ideas of what looked interesting. I remember when the styles of clothes changed with the seasons," I said.

"Amen to that. Just throw me a shirt and a pair of pants and I'm ready to go," Emma replied. "Want to get a drink or something?"

"Lead the way," I said. I must say I got my fair share of some odd looks but because I was with Emma, who turned out to be the law enforcer of this town, no one really questioned it. I was, after all, an immortal man clad in my costume, which included a cape. I did get some impressive smirks at my hammer which I internally grinned at. We arrived at 'Grannys' and I found myself sipping on a ice cold beverage that didn't have any alcohol in it. I suppose Emma was still working and it would be irresponsible for her to offer alcohol to men who come flying through their car. We settled into another round of content silence before she turned to me.

"So, how exactly did you get lost?"

"I made a wrong turn after a friend dropped me off. I preferred walking, breathing in the fresh air that is so rare these days. Seems I was to absorbed by nature that I found out I had lost my way," I said. She actually laughed.

"That is definitely a story to tell the grandkids," she said, before laughing again. I could hear snippets through her laughter, something along the lines of nature, and being absorbed by it. I guess my wording was more humorous than elegant in these times. "I'm sorry, just, I'm not used to people talking so formally."

"Not formally, just like a woman should deserve to be spoken to," I said. She paused.

"Do I know you?" She asked.

"No, I do not recall us meeting prior to this day," I replied and I met her gaze, which was searching my own like she was trying to recall a distant memory.

"I just feel like I know you. I must admit, and please don't get offended, but you're strange but I just don't seem to care, where any other person that would come from some Norwegian country and get lost after taking a stroll in the forest would probably be in a psych ward right about now," she said. Perhaps this was why I was attracted to this goddess. Maybe I had met her before, could it be a past life? Had we been lovers, friends, siblings? The possibilities were endless but there was no point trying to understand. Whatever it was, it was something of the past and our meeting was possibly just an echo of that relationship. We were just strangers who had made acquaintance in a not-so-traditional way.

"I am not offended Emma, I understand completely. Now perhaps another drink and some sharing of life stories. I feel like I could make the most of my time of work," I said.

"Of course. I have to agree with you on that one," she replied as she called a girl named Ruby over to prepare another round of beverages.

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**Suggested by CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur. If you didn't get the referencing, Jennifer and Chris worked together on Star Trek as Kirk's parents. **  
**I am also working on the second part of the 'Working is Hard When You've got a Mystery Telling (You Off). I realize FF cuts it off. Trust.  
**

**Thank you for reading!  
FanEx**


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